Related Content

The full report looked at the deadly misconceptions that are associated with prescription painkillers, and also with over-the-counter pain medications like Tylenol and its generic versions, as well it the "inconsistent and sometimes confusing maximum daily amounts of the drug allowed by the FDA."

Drugs containing the drug hydrocodone are the most commonly prescribed medications, Consumer Reports reported, and if someone uses the drug properly it can be beneficial in treating short-term pain. But Consumer Reports said it found safer approaches like using different prescription medications that can treat certain conditions and reserving opioids for when a condition flares up, or by using a short-acting opioid.

When the drugs are used properly, acetaminophen is safe for most people, even when it's being used for a long period of time. But Consumer Reports reported that nearly 80,000 people a year are treated at hospitals because they have taken too much of the drug.

Consumer Reports said it believes the advice on packaging that reads, "take only as directed" is confusing, and while the FDA has taken steps and lowered the maximum per-pill dose of prescription acetaminophen, the FDA has not taken the same steps for over the counter medications.

Over-the-counter acetaminophen drug-makers also have different views on what someone can safely take. Consumer Reports reported that some labels advise taking to more than 1,000 milligrams a day, while other have limits up to four times that.

"All of this doesn't mean that everyone should avoid opioids and acetaminophen altogether," Marvin M. Lipman, M.D., chief medical adviser for Consumer Reports, said in a statement. "There are safer ways of taking these medications and alternative options. But it does mean that the FDA should fulfill its role to protect consumers by taking strong steps to reduce the dangers, starting by reconsidering its approval of Zohydro ER and establishing consistent standards for acetaminophen."

Because of this, Consumer Reports is asking the FDA to make the pain reliever market less confusing by reconsidering the approval of Zohydro ER, which is a longer-lasting version of hydrocodone it approved in December against the advice of its own experts, and to make acetaminophen standards more consistent.

Consumer Reports said it was also advising people to know the risks not only of opioids and acetaminophen, but also drugs with ibuprofen, naproxen and Celebrex due to the dangers they can pose to your stomach and heart.

"Pain drugs can be as bad as the pain itself," Lipman said in the statement. "You need to know when they are really needed and how to use them safely."